A racing commission has announced that it has implemented an amendment to its rules that could see trainers charged and horses suspended if illegal substances are found in horses even though a positive test was not produced.
The commission that has passed the rule is the British Horseracing Authority, which announced the measure on Wednesday, November 20. The new rule will come into effect on December 1. The rule also provides for a horse to be disqualified from any race it participated in subsequent to the administration of certain prohibited substances without the need for an analytical sample.
The announcement from the BHA explains that the rule amendment was put into place after an investigation relating to the veterinary product Sungate.
The release states that it became apparent during the investigation that a prohibited substance – in this case an anabolic steroid contained in a veterinary product – had been administered to a number of horses. However, no charges could be brought owing to the fact that no positive samples were obtained. BHA also concluded that there was no evidence that the trainers concerned had acted in a manner prejudicial to horseracing.
“The Sungate investigation highlighted a scenario which was not sufficiently or appropriately protected against by the Rules of Racing. The fact that charges could not be brought against trainers even though there was evidence that prohibited substances had been administered to horses in their care or control clearly needed to be addressed,” BHA’s director of Integrity, Legal and Risk, Adam Brickell, was quoted as saying in the release.
“Under the revised Rules, if we have sufficient evidence that certain prohibited substances have been administered to horses in the care or control of a trainer, we are now in a position to take action.”
(With files from the BHA)